Tips to Enhance Living with Your Pets

Month: March 2018

March 18-24, 2018 is National Poison Prevention Week

Remember your furry friends this week and always. There are a lot of different things (plants, medicines, people food, household products, etc) that can make your animals sick or even kill them.

TIPS TO PREVENT POISONINGS

Be prepared for an emergency. Keep the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center number at your fingertips by saving the number in your mobile phone: 888-426-4435

Practice safe storage habits for household chemicals and other substances that can be poisonous for pets

Read and follow all labels and directions

Detect invisible threats

The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is the best resource for any animal poison-related emergency. They are available at 888-426-4435, 24 hours/365 days a year and staffed by veterinary health professionals. There may be a fee for the call.

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Dogs were called to duty in 1942, as the US Army was expanding quickly due to WWII. The United States K9 Corps was established March 13, 1942. Mrs. Alene Erlanger, a private citizen, initiated a program called Dogs for Defense. She, along with some breeders and the AKC, started a group to train dogs for military use. They had the first dogs ready for service by November, 1942.

The dogs are trained in bomb, drug and weapon detection, tracking the enemy and defending their unit. These dogs’ loyalty, bravery and high level of training make them extremely valuable to any unit that they are attached to.

There are approximately 2,500 dogs in active service today, with about 700 deployed overseas.

Joseph White, a retired military working dog trainer, originated the idea for this special day – March 13th – National K9 Veterans Day.

We salute and thank all of the K-9 military and service dogs!

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March is traditionally a month when people think about being “lucky”. We thought it would be a perfect time to reflect on the thousands of “lucky” pets who are adopted into loving homes every day around the country. And especially we wanted to emphasize the benefits of adopting over buying.

According to the ASPCA website in March 2017, there have been “dramatic decreases in shelter intake and euthanasia of homeless dogs and cats. The ASPCA reports that an estimated 1.5 million companion animals are euthanized in U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year, a decrease from about 2.6 million estimated in 2011. Contributing to this reduction is an 18.5 percent increase in national adoptions. An estimated 3.2 million shelter animals are adopted each year (1.6 million dogs and 1.6 million cats), up from 2.7 million adoptions in 2011.” This is wonderful progress but still a sad ending for the 1.5 million sweet and loving animals who continue to be euthanized every year.

How can you help?

Adopt don’t buy – Every pet bought at a pet store is one less adopted from a shelter and many pet store animals have come from puppy mills or disreputable breeders who do not provide humane conditions for their breeding animals.

Spay or Neuter your pets – Don’t add even more animals to the problem. Controlling the pet population at the source is a huge first step.

If you can’t adopt, FOSTER – Maybe you can welcome animals into your home temporarily until they find their forever home.

There are thousands of wonderful “lucky” stories of pets, rescued from bad situations or lengthy stays at shelters/rescues to loving homes. Dogs that have transformed themselves bringing joy and happiness to their new owners – some even becoming service animals for their new owners.

Here are just a few stories from around the internet that show the best of side of humans and our furry counterparts.

To help your new/current dog have the best of both worlds (inside and outside) consider a Hale Pet Door to give them and you more freedom in your lives. And with Hale’s Rescue Rewards program, you not only help the pet you adopted you help other animals as well. When you purchase a pet door for your adopted pet and tell us the name of the rescue or humane society where you adopted them, you get 10% off your purchase and we donate an additional 10% back to the rescue so they can continue helping even more animals. A LUCKY day all around!